On Friday night, Carolina selected Brandon Sutter with the 11th overall pick. This was a bit of a surprise. I thought Angelo Esposito would be the guy, but he fell off the board because of his alleged work ethic problems. He hit a wall in January or so, and mailed it in the rest of the way. The former top-ranked North American skater slipped all the way to #20. Also, the former prohibitive #1 rated player, Alexei Cherepanov slipped all the way to #17. His fall was largely due to his Russian-ness.The Kings pulled a shocking move by going WAAAAAAY off the board, selecting defenseman Thomas Hickey with the #4 overall pick. Many prognosticators had him pegged as a late-first round or even a mid-second round pick.
The Sharks also pulled a bit of a head-scratcher when they went with centerman Logan Couture with the ninth overall pick.
Since there were two head-scratchers and the dropping stock of Esposito and Cherepanov, the Hurricanes were afforded the opportunity to select Brandon Sutter with the #11 pick. Everyone had him pegged as a top 10 pick, and his last name is Sutter for cryin' out loud. I don't think there's such a thing as a better hockey pedigree. In case you don't already know, his old man is Brent Sutter, who was the best of the six Sutter brothers.
He probably won't play in Raleigh this October unless he has a phenomenal training camp, but there's no doubt that this kid is special. After he gains a few pounds and develops a little more, he's going to be a very good NHL player.
Here's the other big thing. I first read about this on "Teh LGC", but apparently I get to break this. The N&O is mum on this. The Hurricanes official website is mum on this. The other Hurricanes bloggers are mum on this. Even 850 the blog is mum on this, but apparently the Hurricanes have unveiled their new sweater.
They didn't show the sweater at the draft, or in the gift shop, or on their website, or any of these, but EA's NHL 2008 has some screenshots of four new sweaters. Three were unveiled at the draft. Boston, Washington, and Columbus all presented their draftees with their new sweater.
Carolina is the other one that EA is showing us. They say that it's all official. Anyway, here's a glimpse of the new Canes sweater. Above is a shot of the front. No major changes. Just a stripe, or some piping along the collarbone and around the back. The primary and secondary logos remain the same, the font of the numbering and lettering remains the same. The "storm warning" flags along the hem remain the same. Some people are beat up about the fact that there wasn't a serious overhaul, but I like it. This second shot shows the back of the sweater with the piping/stipe going right over the nameplate. It's worth pointing out that this is the first time that EA has gotten the Brind'Amour half-tuck correct. They've traditionally depicted him as a full-tuck kind of guy. We all know that he isn't. Click on either of the images for better detail.
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6 comments:
Nice work on breaking the sweater story! I'm not crazy about the look at first glance, but I'm sure it will grow on me.
Funny they show Anson Carter in the shot. Surprise! He's sitting on the bench.
I like the "vintage" jersey better. I'm kind of meh about the stripe.
I went by the Eye and they're measuring for new racks of stuff, so it seems. Plunked down a king's ransom for two Brindy home jerseys so Hub and I can look like fans for a change. Egad, I had no idea they cost so much. But when I put mine on I can't describe how good it felt.
What's the etiquette on getting them signed? Any tips for the noob?
Mer, my two cents on the matter is that you should only have Brind'Amour sign your Brind'Amour sweater. Buy a plain one for the whole team to sign.
I'm also sort of in the camp that you shouldn't wear a sweater that's been signed. That's just me, though.
It looks like the new ones will be going for $169 with personalization. We probably won't be able to buy authentic ones, but the replicas are now going to be referred to as "premier". Considering the "replicas" go for 159 now, it's not that bad.
I'm fine with my "vintage replica" Williams sweater which I bought at the end of '06, and my "vintage replica" (now obsolete) Vasicek sweater which I bought at the end of '04.
Eventually, I'd like to get a Whitney or get real crazy and get a LaRose, but for next season the Williams will do just fine.
Nice scoop on the sweater! I like 'em. I have high hopes for Sutter. 6'2", skilled, hard-working, still growing, last name Sutter. Here's hoping he turns out to be as good as his pedigree.
I didn't wash my '03 "Vintage Replica" away Brindy jersey ("A") during the entire 05-06 regular season or playoffs. Wasn't so much about being superstitous, but I couldn't risk washing it.
Febreze is a wonderful thing!
I'm for the same etiquette on players' John Hancocks. I wore my #17 jersey to the Ale House the other night and didn't ask Cam to sign it.
I have a whole long list of ridiculous rules for sweater etiquette. I'll mention a few here.
Like you, Wufpirate, I went the whole 05-06 season and playoffs without ever washing my "vintage replica" 04 Vasicek home sweater. In fact I've never washed it. I wore it to a total of 41 games including all of the playoffs and a few road games. And I've never washed my Williams home sweater. It's only been worn about 23 times.
I don't wear it out to a bar if I go out afterwards, and I hang it up (with the team crest facing out) in the right rear window of the car on the way to and from the game. Basically, it only gets worn inside the arena.
I still have a vintage knockoff replica home sweater from '02. I washed it a few times, and it got pretty beat up in the process. I don't recommend it at all.
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